Will Chelsea remain the Citizens’ fears?

The absolute highlight of the sixth matchday in the English Premier League will take place early on Saturday afternoon. It will be a rematch of the Champions League final from four months ago at Stamford Bridge in west London. Chelsea will welcome Manchester City. According to the odds, the bookmakers find it very difficult to name a favourite. From a form point of view, however, the home side may have the advantage.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have picked up 13 points from a possible 15 in their five games so far this season, while the Citizens are three points off the pace and have even lost once.

Furthermore, when predicting the outcome of the Chelsea vs. Manchester City clash, it is important to bear in mind that the most recent three direct encounters have all gone to the Blues, who also narrowly came out on top 1-0 in the Champions League final already mentioned.

The fear that the teams will share the points on Saturday lunchtime can be relatively well ruled out statistically, by the way, because in fact none of the last twelve encounters in the Premier League ended in a draw.

Whether the spectators in the English capital will see many goals, however, can also be critically questioned, after all, the two best defences in the top flight are facing each other. Despite the early stage of the season, we can therefore look forward to a landmark clash in the battle for the Premier League championship

Chelsea – Statistics & current form

Thomas Tuchel has not yet played 30 games for Chelsea Football Club. Nevertheless, the German coach, who previously coached Mainz, Dortmund and Paris St. Germain, has already left a big mark. Especially last year’s Champions League victory will forever be associated with his name.

But what often gets pushed into the background is his excellent record at national level In a total of 24 Premier League games under Tuchel’s management, the Blues have conceded only three defeats. This compares to 15 wins and six draws. In no less than 15 of the 24 matches mentioned above, the Londoners have kept a clean sheet more often than any other club in the English top flight.

Defence remains Chelsea’s main trump card

Once again, the capital club has achieved a clean sheet on four out of five occasions in league action this season Only in the 1-1 draw at Liverpool did keeper Mendy have to make a save, although this was only a penalty goal conceded when they were shorthanded. The outstanding defence is therefore the clear showpiece of the reigning Champions League winners and also one of the main reasons why we prefer a bet on the home team between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Another positive aspect from the home side’s point of view is that the front-runners are very variable offensively. The twelve goals scored so far have actually come from ten (!) different players The signing of Romelu Lukaku, who is the only Blues player to have scored three goals in the league, has added even more quality to the Tuchel team, which is why we definitely see the current Premier League leaders in a position to clinch a three-goal win at home on Saturday.

During the week, the German coach was able to spare numerous key players in the EFL Cup. Nevertheless, the Londoners beat Aston Villa on penalties in the third round. Compared to Wednesday’s line-up, there will probably be nine to ten changes. In the short term, however, it will be decided whether regular keeper Mendy will be fit in time or whether penalty killer Kepa will continue to be trusted. But the Spaniard already made a very stable impression in the strong 3-0 win at Tottenham the previous week.

Projected Chelsea line-up:
Mendy; Christensen, T Silva, Rudiger; Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso; Mount, Lukaku, Havertz

Last matches played by Chelsea:

Manchester City – Statistics & current form

Pep Guardiola is no longer held in the highest regard in England at the moment. More than a month ago, the Catalan was already somewhat vague about his personal future as coach of Manchester City. Only recently, rumours were again heard that Barcelona were planning to bring back the “prodigal son”. The former Bayern coach also made no friends in the fan camp with his indirect criticism of too few spectators at the Champions League opener against RB Leipzig (38,000 were there, 55,000 should have come).

Surely the Citizens’ supporters can overlook these banalities should the right kind of success come their way in the coming weeks, but again the reigning champions have forfeited their early season dominance From the first five Premier League games of 2021/22, the Sky Blues picked up “only” three wins. After a defeat at Tottenham (0:1) on matchday one, City had to settle for a goalless draw at home to Southampton the previous week

Complaining at a high level or the start of a creeping decline?

In two of the five league matches, the Himmelblauen remained without conceding a goal. By way of comparison, it took de Bruyne and Co. 30 matches in Germany’s top division to score the same number of goals. For the first time since 2006/07, are now threatened with a third game without a goal of their own after six match days. Against the outstanding defence of their upcoming opponents, of all teams, this statistical lull in attacking play is certainly an argument to check the odds on a home win or on sub-par goals between Chelsea and Manchester City.

The situation is compounded for the fifth-placed side, who could be distanced to six points by the Blues if they lose, by the fact that coach Pep Guardiola has not lost to any other club in the competition as often as he has to Chelsea Football Club (eight times). The Londoners could become the first club to defeat the multiple World Coach of the Year four times in a row on Saturday.

The tense personnel situationis also causing frowns. With John Stones and Aymeric Laporte, for example, two regular centre-backs are absent. The duo of Ake and Dias is thus once again setting itself up in the centre of defence. There are also question marks over the deployment of the injured Zinchenko, Gündogan and Rodri. While his counterpart Thomas Tuchel has been meticulously rotating in recent weeks, Pep’s hands have been somewhat tied in terms of personnel. Quite possibly, this too between Chelsea and Manchester City sways our prediction more towards the home side.

Predicted Manchester City line-up:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Gundogan; Jesus, Torres, Grealish

Last matches played by Manchester City:

Chelsea – Manchester City betting tips

Much more footballing quality than the remake of the 2021 Champions League final can hardly be promised by a direct duel in these days, weeks and months. On Saturday lunchtime, the time has come once again. Although this time it is not a title match, the clash between two of the best European football teams in the Premier League already has a trend-setting character – especially for the visitors.

The Citizens have three points less than the Blues so far and are therefore under more pressure. The fact that the last three head-to-head meetings have all gone to the Londoners and that Pep Guardiola has not lost more matches against any other club than against the current leaders of the English top flight underlines how difficult the task at Stamford Bridge will be. We are therefore all the more surprised that very high betting odds are being offered on a home win in the top match between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Coach Thomas Tuchel’s team is in strong form, picking up 13 of a possible 15 points so far and keeping a clean sheet in four of their five league games. In terms of personnel, the German coach – in contrast to his colleagues on the City bench – can draw on a full complement.

All in all, we have therefore come to the decision to bet on a home win between Chelsea and Manchester City, but to hedge this with the “Draw-No-Bet” add-on. In the event of a draw, there will be cashback